Miss Chatelaine

I just subscribed to a year of Chatelaine magazine. Well, truth be told, it is on my To Do List. I have been intending to subscribe for at least 6 months now. It seems to take me a little while to
get my chores done. I'm good at reading mags, just not subscribing to them in a timely fashion. We can't all be perfect now can we?

My Chatelaine love has been my dirty little secret for some time now. I always thought it was a fairly lame magazine. Too boring and too mainstream for me. I was always an avid reader of Bitch and Bust magazine, but since kids I haven't had the brain power to get through an article without losing track of what they are talking about. Of course, it's possible that's due to my early onset of Alzheimer's. It's not an official diagnosis but I'm expecting one any day now, I just keep forgetting to call my doctor.

One of my best friends was over the other day. She's a very hip lady. I was passing on some of my books and magazines to her. She very politely declined the Chatelaine. She was surprised by my love and as an awkward amends she told me she had just gotten her 70 year old mother a subscription. It didn't make me feel like a very cool cat. It was either that or my lame use of forties jazz slang.

These are the things I love about Chateleine magazine and am not afraid to admit; 1) the recipes that I will never try 2) the workouts that I love to plan for but never do 3) the book suggestions that I will never remember when I'm at a bookstore. So in summary, it is plainly obvious to me and all my readers that the boring and mainstream Chatelaine magazine is a perfect match for me.

I am thinking of legally changing my name from Alysa to Miss Chatelaine. Please address me as such when I see you next.

Gluten and Dairy Free Quiche with my friend Bacon and my acquaintance Broccoli
(I was unable to come up with a catchier name)

8 eggs, beaten
1 cup of plain soy milk
5-7 new potatoes
3 or more slices of bacon, diced and fried until slightly crispy
1 head of broccoli, cut into fine pieces
salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl combine eggs and soy milk. Set aside. Slice potatoes an 1/8 thick and boil until 3/4 cooked. Grease an 8"x 8" pan, and throw all the ingredients in it. Bake at 375 F for 30 to 40 minutes.

a hot, buttery bath.

I went to a friend's house this past weekend to enjoy a rare afternoon's gossip and glass (or two) of wine, unfettered by the requirements of my family (who were, all three of them, safely ensconced at our house just across the street). I had a marvelous time, greedily making my way through several truffled olives and more than my share of a luscious cheese fondue; and when I got home, I made a thrilling discovery:

Dairy does not seem to be the problem it once was for my nursing baby.

I was, besides being thrilled, also a little relieved - had things gone the other direction, and my reckless cheese-eating resulted in hours of pain (for the baby) and misery (for the rest of us), I'd be too busy feeling like a terrible mother to blithely blog about it.

But as I was also very, very grateful for the opportunity to start eating butter again, I cooked this simple dish almost immediately. The broccoli component is enough to make you (well, me anyway) feel okay about the rest of the ingredients; eaten with brown rice, it could almost be considered virtuous.

Broccoli Bagna Cauda

2 small heads organic broccoli, separated into florets
4 tbsp olive oil, divided
salt and pepper
1/4 c unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 anchovy fillets, minced
a large splash of white wine
a generous squeeze of lemon juice
1/3 c toasted pine nuts
scant 1/4 c freshly grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Toss broccoli florets with 2 tbsp olive oil and the salt and pepper, and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast about 20 minutes, until broccoli is quite tender and beginning to brown.
In a large skillet, melt remaining 2 tbsp olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add garlic and anchovies and saute until garlic is colouring slightly, about 2-3 minutes; add wine and lemon juice and simmer a few minutes.
Transfer broccoli to the skillet and cook a few more minutes, tossing the broccoli and letting the sauce reduce a little. Add pine nuts.
Sprinkle parmesan over top and serve.

Serves 2 as a main course (with rice), or 4 as a side dish.